Where the Heart Is
by ninaninagrrr
Summary: The Runaways are on their way back to Metropolis with Lex Luthor. Exhausted, Tye is unfortunately unable to fall asleep, feeling lost in the world. Asami overhears his self contemplation and consoles him to the best of her abilities.


**A/N: I sorta had a two year writer's block and I'm still new to this, so please be kind to me. Anyways, this would probably go in the Headbands ship, but nothing really happens. And a great big cuddly thanks to peacelovebackstroke, without whom I would not have had enough confidence to post this, for being my Beta-Reader! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Young Justice**

**So without further ado…**

**Where The Heart Is**

Sighing, Tye crossed his arms and stared out the window of the jet. He wanted to sleep so very badly. It was teasing him, teetering at the edges of his eyelids and coming forth with every yawn. And every time he would close his eyes, he swore the aircraft would shake him awake by sudden turbulence. In actuality, it only happened a couple times. But as tired as he was, it felt like a billion. To the best of his knowledge, everyone was asleep. Alas, he was not. How could he be? There were so many thoughts floating around his head, rattling his brain every possible time he let down his guard. So, here he is, forced by his own self to wallow in his guilt and pain.

He sighed again, throwing in more of a groan this time, and thumped the back of his head against the seat. He had sighed so many times now he lost count. Noticing the clouds of mist floating passed the plane, the teen decided to try for rest one more time.

"Sumimasen?" The familiar voice of a certain Japanese girl caused him to open his eyes. Sure enough, when he looked up, there she was, standing recently woken and half in the isle. Sam held her gaze with the boy, slowly lowering herself into the empty seat next to Tye.

"You o…kay?" The girl visibly struggled with finding the correct English terms and pronunciations, so much so that Tye actually felt bad for not answering.

"I'm fine," he said, turning back to the window. The sky was painted a dark blue color. If it was possible, that made him even more tired. Asami exhaled, realizing that he was done speaking. The leather of the seat made a small scrunching sound as she stood.

"Maybe…" Asami quickly turned back by his sudden continuation. He didn't look away from the window, and she didn't sit back down. "Maybe I shouldn't have left."

That thought plagued his mind; sure he was fed up with Maurice and his bullshit, but that was his home; that was the only place he knew how to sufficiently survive. Now look at him, on a jet with three other previously kidnapped teens, and Lex Luthor, of all people, to Metropolis. Metropolis! He didn't know what it was like in a city. And for all of that, it was the smallest thing bothering him. There was the fact that he had run away and let down his guard, only to be taken captive by a media-happy alien group and experimented on. Then, when he actually thought things would get better, he was passed straight over to the hands of STAR. And his best friend… that hurt more than he liked to admit. That was his excuse for trusting someone like Lex, even though it went against everything he learned. There was no way this would turn out well for the group of teens he has come to call friends.

"It was a mistake, wasn't it?" Tye went on, unconcerned with the fact Sam knew nothing about what he was saying. He scoffed at himself, not knowing the true meaning behind his question either. He was not sure if he was talking about running away or trusting Luthor. Quickly, Tye shook his head from left to right as if he had been daydreaming and just realized his surroundings. Of course, it wasn't his surroundings that he was realizing; it was his train of thought. "I never would've actually left if it wasn't for The Reach." And he wasn't exactly grateful for that.

Despite not sharing a common language with the boy, Sam knew those last two words. She loathed those words and secretly feared them.

"Sumimasen," she spoke up, squinting at his statement.

Finally, Tye turned to face her, having made up his mind about what exactly was plaguing him. "My home; I don't have one anymore. None of us do. And we're not gonna find one with Luthor."

Staring at him, Sam frowned. Tye did too, saddened by the thought of just telling her a horrible truth, and she had no idea what he meant. She took a seat again, watching him vigorously. That actually got him to blush; he had realized she was cute before, but never in such a close setting.

When he didn't go on, Asami furrowed her brow and reached for his hands. She took both of his in her own. The warmth of her made him realize how cold he had been. It was a sort of numbness that he assumed went along with all his conflicting thoughts. But her touch, it changed everything. He felt a soft burning sensation on the tips of his ears, glad they were covered by his headband as he knew they would have turned two shades darker from the rushing blood. She pulled his hands closer to herself, Tye resisting just ever so slightly. This was a weird scenario; normally, she wouldn't take the initiative like this, it would be him- it probably had something to do with the language barrier.

The Japanese teen continued along with her movement. When Tye saw where she was trying to place them, his eyes widened, and he tried to break her grip, overcome by panic. He was sure his blush was showing at this point. Still determined and motivated, Sam held on until she positioned them both on her chest, where the heart would be.

Tye's mouth dropped. His eyes moved from their hands to look up at her face. There, she was smiling with a soft look in her eyes.

"Home," she said, gently squeezing his hands. The girl let go of one and leaned forward to touch his chest… his heart. "Home."

Their gaze met once more and suddenly, Tye felt genuinely at ease. He smiled back at the girl.

"Home," he nodded, taking his free hand and putting it right over hers, where it stayed over his heart.

Behind the pair, the edge of the sky just barely started to turn a light blue. It was already morning. At least now he felt like he could actually fall asleep.

**A/N: Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed it.**


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